DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 17 April 2020 (Fri)

Singapore Real Estate

Commercial, industrial properties still draw interest
Big-ticket property deals may have slowed to a trickle, but Singapore’s commercial and industrial spaces continued to draw interest from business owners and investors during the weeks that the world was experiencing tighter border controls and rising number of lockdowns amid the Covid-19 outbreak.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/commercial-industrial-properties-still-draw-interest

S-Reits get lifeline on cash flow, fund-raising
Real estate investment trusts listed on the Singapore Exchange (S-Reits) will soon benefit from new measures that will give them more flexibility to manage their cash flows and raise funds amid the operating environment made challenging by Covid-19.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/s-reits-get-lifeline-on-cash-flow-fund-raising
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/new-steps-to-help-s-reits-manage-cash-flow-raise-funds

Coronavirus: Co-working thrives in Hong Kong, struggles in Singapore shutdown
It’s a different story in Singapore, where a government-ordered shutdown of all but essential services means most workers have to stay home, with employers facing hefty fines or even jail if they don’t enforce the measures.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/coronavirus-co-working-thrives-in-hong-kong-struggles-in-singapore-shutdown
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/hong-kong-co-working-providers-thrive-amid-covid-19-lockdown

Singapore Economy

Singapore non-oil exports in March jump 17.6% from ‘low base’
SINGAPORE’S exports grew by a surprising 17.6 per cent in March, extending February’s expansion, amid a weak outlook brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. The jump in non-oil domestic exports (NODX) in March is due to a “low base a year ago”, according to Enterprise Singapore (ESG) on Friday. February’s NODX was 3.1 per cent.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/singapore-non-oil-exports-in-march-jump-176-from-low-base
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/economy/singapore-non-oil-exports-defy-coronavirus-disruption-to-surge-176-in-march

Companies’ Brief

Perennial sells remaining 30% stake in 111 Somerset to Stanley Ho’s Shun Tak for S$155m
Perennial Real Estate Holdings is divesting its entire 30 per cent stake in 111 Somerset, known locally as TripleOne Somerset, to gambling mogul Stanley Ho’s Shun Tak Holdings for S$155.1 million in cash. 111 Somerset is a prime integrated development, comprising two premium-grade office towers and a retail podium.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/perennial-sells-remaining-30-stake-in-111-somerset-to-stanley-hos-shun-tak-for
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/perennial-sells-stake-in-tripleone-somerset-to-casino-king-stanley-hos-shun-tak

Soilbuild Reit Q1 DPU down 26% to 0.883 Singapore cent
Industrial landlord Soilbuild Business Space Reit on Thursday posted a 26.3 per cent drop in distribution per unit (DPU) to 0.883 cent, compared to the 1.198 cents it paid out a year ago. The manager explained that in view of the Covid-19 situation, it had excluded some capital distributions to conserve the Reit’s capital.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/soilbuild-reit-q1-dpu-down-26-to-0883-singapore-cent

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Consequences to ponder if the US Fed indulges in ‘QE Infinity’
Last month, the US Federal Reserve unveiled its strategy for preventing a total collapse in the financial system – an interest rate cut to almost zero and a multi-trillion monetary bazooka that will see the US central bank buy almost every kind of financial product in the various markets that have been frozen due to the virus pandemic.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/consequences-to-ponder-if-the-us-fed-indulges-in-qe-infinity

Coronavirus and the coming green financial revolution
The coronavirus pandemic is one of the biggest and unprecedented seismic shifts in the global economy that we have ever seen in modern history – and it is only just getting started. Already, economies around the world are shutting down. The Federal Reserve has pumped trillions into the United States’ economy in just a matter of days.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/coronavirus-and-the-coming-green-financial-revolution

Crisis needs major global cooperation
With global infections from the Covid-19 pandemic having crossed the two-million mark, the world’s largest multilateral lender, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has put out an exceptionally grim forecast for the world economy, which it predicts will contract by 3 per cent in 2020.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/crisis-needs-major-global-cooperation

Green debt issued in region doubles to $11 billion last year
Sustainable financing is gaining traction in South-east Asia, with green loans and bond issuances rocketing across the region last year and Singapore leading the way, a new report noted yesterday. The amount of green bonds and loans issued in the region hit US$7.8 billion (S$11.1 billion) last year, almost double the US$4.1 billion in 2018.
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/green-debt-issued-in-region-doubles-to-11-billion-last-year

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

Singapore’s coronavirus numbers in local community remain stable in past 2 weeks
Local coronavirus cases in the community have remained stable over the past two weeks, a positive sign at a time when cases here are consistently hitting new highs with numbers soaring in worker dormitories. While it is too early to say for sure, experts are optimistic that the situation should continue to improve, particularly with circuit breaker measures in place and most people adhering to them.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/case-numbers-in-local-community-remain-stable-in-past-2-weeks

90% of new cases in dorms as testing is stepped up
Almost 90 per cent of the new coronavirus cases announced yesterday were foreign workers living in dormitories. They made up 654 of the latest daily high of 728 cases the Ministry of Health (MOH) confirmed as of noon yesterday, with two more large purpose-built dorms and three other factory converted dorms emerging as new clusters.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/90-of-new-cases-in-dorms-as-testing-is-stepped-up

When do I need to wear a mask?
Since Tuesday, it has been mandatory for everyone to wear a mask when they step out of their homes. Here are some clarifications about the mask rules.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/when-do-i-need-to-wear-a-mask

*For more information, please visit the Ministry of Health (MOH) website at www.moh.gov.sg and refer to go.gov.sg/mohupdates for updates on the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation